Ignition Interlock

With the passage of Chapter 496 of the Laws of 2009, commonly referred to as Leandra’s Law, New York State joins nine other states implementing mandatory “first offender” ignition interlock laws. This important Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) legislation introduced at the request of Governor David A. Paterson, unanimously passed by both houses of the New York State Legislature, and was signed into law on November 18, 2009 to strengthen penalties for those who endanger children while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. An essential component of this new law requires monitoring of all defendants subject to ignition interlock devices as a result of sentencing on and after August 15, 2010, involving a DWI misdemeanor or felony offense.

Ignition interlock devices are equipped with recording devices that capture
the number of times the automobile was started or attempted to be started,
the operator's BAC at the time an attempt was made to start the car, and
the duration the automobile was driven during the monitoring period.